After meeting Buruz and the others, we quickly and quietly descended the forest path leading down the mountain.
The silence between us wasn't because there were enemies present, since Buruz had seen to that with the trail of mangled corpses he'd left in his wake, but because we only had a vague idea of what we were getting ourselves into.
Ysevel and I had heard about only a handful of Nexis' powers from the combined stories of Athar and Kalia, but whatever else he had up his sleeves was something we had to figure out for ourselves.
In short, we were about to blindly battle one of the most powerful mages in recent history.
This is going to go well, I sent sarcastically, knowing Ysevel had been keeping track of my feelings about this whole operation like I had hers. I just wish that Ardrin had given us a little more information about him, I mentally sighed.
I think it's safe to assume that he can do just about anything you can think of, Ysevel shrugged as we ran. Fair enough, but how the hell do we counter someone like that? I raised an eyebrow.
I think you need to think as far outside the box as you can, Kalia's voice rasped in my head. You have your Sunder technique, which we know can cut through spells, but that alone likely won't be enough to stop him, she warned.
I've only tried the technique against Athar and Irun, but they're both in the third stage, I noted, recalling the last two years' worth of training once Athar reached the third stage.
That's true, but the principle is still the same. The Wraithborn were feared by their enemies because of their abilities to manipulate non-elemental mana, Kalia reminded me. I think if we all work together using our particular skills, we should be able to defeat him, Ysevel chimed in as she leaped over a fallen tree, the ashen dust floating behind her hand as she pushed off.
Let's hope Ardrin's part of the plan works without him noticing, I shrugged, forcing myself to focus a little more as the terrain became more difficult to navigate.
The dead trees reminded me of when we first arrived in this Realm and my first time being forced to use dark mana. I hated the feeling it gave me, so when Ysevel and I became Wraithborn, I was relieved to have something other than that gut-wrenching feeling.
I still don't know how she does it, I thought of Ysevel wielding it as easily as I would Ethereal mana.
Having both her and Kalia around for this battle was far more comforting to me than I realized. It was good to know that Kalia, an advanced fourth-stage Wraithborn, and Ysevel, who could wield both kinds of mana with almost no gap in her abilities, were there with me to end Nexis' plans.
We moved lightly and quickly through the dead forest to where we'd reached the outer wall of Pyrdredd by the end of that cycle. Before exiting into the cleared space between the forest and the hundred-meter wall in front of us, Buruz held up a balled fist, bringing us to a halt.
"Time is running short, and we need to be in position before he comes out of the dome," Buruz rasped quietly. "I know the others can manage the climb, but…" he trailed off, glancing between us non-hegraphenes. "They'll be fine. Itrained them, after all," Kalia nodded. Buruz's eyes showed the hint of a grin before he dashed into the open, leading the way for us to follow him up the high wall.
Even as we approached, I noticed that there were a few bent spikes with just enough room for someone to put their foot on. The problem was the distance between those spikes was nearly twenty meters.
Almost the exact distance between the vertices inside the dome, I grinned, realizing that those races between Ysevel and I weren't for nothing. She grinned at me as if she were challenging me to another race, but didn't say anything because I already knew that's where her head was at. I could also feel a warm sensation coming from Kalia, but whether that was because of mine and Ysevel's competitiveness or the fact that she was right about the distances, I couldn't tell.
Buruz led the way to the foot of the wall, using his augmented body to its fullest capacity as he jumped from one spike to another with practiced precision. The others and I waited for the hegraphenes from the mountain pass to climb up first, pulling security for any other creatures that might try to get too close.
You're up next. I'll keep watch, Kalia nodded to Ysevel, who returned it promptly. Her eyes flared with scarlet mana as she vanished from sight, reappearing in the time it took to blink on the next spike up. She went from spike to spike and reached the top in a matter of seconds, making the hegraphenes at the top flinch in surprise.
Not bad, I sent as I saw her arm motion for me to come up next. I followed the pattern she used to scale the wall and tried to match her time. I was only a little slower, by my calculations, but I was glad to have reached the top as quickly as I did. Not too bad yourself, she patted my shoulder with a grin.
Irun and Athar were up next, but I was curious to see just how much they'd actually improved. Being restricted inside the dome wasn't an accurate measure of their abilities, though I did have an idea. Athar went first, channeling dark mana into his limbs as he adeptly moved from spike to spike. He moved almost as quickly as the augmented hegraphenes, and I figured it must have been because of his alternate's body.
Irun went next, but he was much faster than Athar had been. As he moved from spike to spike, I could see them flex a little as he pushed off of them. When he reached the top, I could tell he was satisfied with his progress, making Athar roll his eyes.
"He's been using mana longer than you, so don't worry about it," I whispered, hoping my voice wouldn't carry far. Athar's eyes glistened for a heartbeat, but the sudden presence of Kalia materializing behind him caused him to shudder. She put an armored finger up to where her mouth would be, gesturing for us to follow Buruz again as he'd already begun to move.
Peering down from the height of the wall, I got a good sense of the citadel's layout. A long bridge extended from the base to the outer wall with a bottomless, glowing chasm beneath it. There were also multiple levels that protruded out from the sides of the citadel, though it came to a point near the top, obscured by the gloomy clouds of dark mana above.
I could tell that whatever was causing the sickly green glow that bathed the citadel was likely mana-based, but I struggled to find, much less sense, the source of it. We continued sprinting along the wall in silence, making our way to its backside, which was nestled into the cliffs surrounding it.
I can see why no one has dared to attack him before, I sent Kalia. It's not just his prowess with mana that's frightening, but the fact that this citadel is almost impenetrable to any army in the Underworld and the risks they would have to take that have prevented us from doing this for so long, she added.
It made sense. Any army that wanted to get in here would either have to fight along the bridge, which he could easily break and send them into the chasm, or scale down the cliffs. Either way, it was a suicide mission.
As we reached the backside of the citadel, Buruz pointed out another set of bent spikes, leading into a courtyard with little cover or concealment aside from a few dividing walls. He continued leading the way, leaping from one spike to the next, then hiding behind one of the low walls just before a sentry daemon did its rounds.
Shit, why does he need those to keep a lookout on the cliffside? I considered our options. Leave it to me, Kalia sent, already at a full sprint before leaping off the edge of the high wall. She was in free fall for only a few moments before reappearing to its left, using her momentum to carry her blade through its neck and severing its head.
She caught the body and head with her hands, but the jagged spear it once held in its claw was now struggling to maintain its balance on the balcony. Without another thought, I dashed off the edge, calculating my trajectory to catch the blade before it crashed to the ground, potentially revealing our location.
My eyes flared with more scarlet mana as I leaned into the space between me and the falling spear. I reappeared just beside it, forcing myself to crouch in time to catch it as one of the flanges nearly struck the ground. Kalia was just as surprised as I was that I'd actually caught it, but gave me a thankful nod without another word.
Thoma, are you okay? Ysevel sent, her worry evidently seeping through our connection. Yeah, I'm alright, I chuckled, gingerly picking the spear up and leaning it against the sharp corner of the balcony. Thank you, Kalia offered sincerely. I thought its grip would have held it for a moment longer, but this creature is much weaker than an average daemon, she glanced down at the severed head.
What do you mean by weaker? I prodded the daemon's leg with my foot. You know as well as I do that they have incredible grip strength for their size. This one seems almost sickly by comparison, she pried open its jagged-toothed maw and looked inside.
Derion would love her, I thought, getting a mental chuckle from Ysevel.
However, there was one thing that didn't make sense to me. You said this one seemed sickly. Why do you think that? I asked Kalia, watching the others descend the wall out of the corner of my eye. Remember what Athar told us about the green mana? I think it has something to do with that, her eyes held a worried expression I hadn't seen her use since mentioning she was scared to lose us.
Looking at my surroundings momentarily, I realized that the entire citadel was engulfed in the sickly green glow not because of a light source, but because it was mana.